Chapter 944 The Eve of Action!

Hanyang, Guo Mansion

Ye Pengchao, who goes by the pseudonym of Anqing wealthy businessman Guo Yuan, is carefully looking at the account book of his own business to see the business performance this month...
Although as the spy in Jingchu, Ye Pengchao would be allocated a sum of funds every year, but in order to complete the tasks assigned by the higher-ups, he needed to win over powerful figures in Jingchu.

If you want to win them over, you need money, but the funding of the Coordination Office is limited and there is no way to reimburse 100%, so Ye Pengchao needs to rely on his own business to earn the extra money!
Looking at the deficit of more than two thousand taels of silver on the account, Ye Pengchao frowned but couldn't say anything. After all, all this silver was spent from his hands!

In the past month, he has been preparing for the subsequent reorganization in Hanyang. In order to transport the Fengwu Army's firearms to the Han River, he first bribed the officials of the Provincial Government with hundreds of taels of silver to obtain the approval document. Although he had the approval document, he still had to take care of the checkpoints along the way.

In addition, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, he also planned a series of assassinations, including the assassination of Sun Chenggong's advisor Cheng Pingzhi. After learning that Cheng Pingzhi was killed, Sun Chenggong was very angry and ordered the City Defense Department and the Censorate to conduct a joint investigation.

In order to successfully frame all these on the heads of the Thousand Tiger Guards, Ye Pengchao used his money ability again, and spent thousands of taels of silver on this item...

Although everything has been settled smoothly now, Ye Pengchao still can't be happy looking at the deficit. His only hope now is that the higher-ups will approve Duan Zhibao's request as soon as possible so that he can launch the coup d'état earlier!

Just yesterday, Li Zhengyong sent someone to deliver a message, saying that the 30,000 taels of resettlement fee agreed upon before was too little, and that at least 50,000 taels of resettlement fee were needed. Ye Pengchao had to persuade Li Zhengyong in every possible way to resolve the matter, and did not let Li Zhengyong ask for an exorbitant amount.

Now Ye Pengchao felt more and more that the night was getting longer and dreams were piling up. Not to mention other situations, just the silver item, the assets of his entire company were only more than 6,000 taels of silver. He had a deficit of 2,000 taels in this month, and almost all the silver in his account was lost.

If there are any changes in the future and if the higher-ups don’t allocate money, I’m afraid I’ll have to go to a pawn shop to mortgage my property in Han River!
Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao couldn't help but sigh. Although he really hoped that the higher-ups could take action sooner, he had just received the news yesterday that the Marshal was personally leading tens of thousands of troops all the way west to Luoan.

Although there was no other news, Ye Pengchao knew very well that the Marshal hated doing things that were wasteful and formalistic.

And when the Fengwu Army had already captured Luoan, and the traitor Shangguan and his followers had been executed, the Marshal still wanted to lead tens of thousands of troops to Luoan. That meant there would be more fighting in the Guanzhong direction, and it was obvious who the opponent would be...
So what Ye Pengchao is most worried about now is that all the attention is now focused on dealing with the Golden Horde, and the actions in Jingchu are suspended!

Just when Ye Pengchao was feeling worried, a subordinate came to him and reported to him:
"Sir, General Duan's butler Wang Hui is here! He wants to see you!"

Ye Pengchao's heart tightened when he heard this. He subconsciously felt that Duan Zhibao took the initiative to look for him at this time, and it was probably not a good thing!

Although he was in a bad mood, Ye Pengchao knew very well in his heart that he had to stabilize Duan Zhibao for the time being, so he calmed down his emotions and nodded to his subordinates, indicating that they should invite the people over!
A moment later, Wang Hui was led by his servants to Ye Pengchao. Ye Pengchao smiled and bowed, asking:
"Butler Wang, as soon as I opened the door this morning, I heard the magpie calling. Sure enough, it was expecting a distinguished guest like you to come!"

"Please take a seat! Let the maids serve the fragrant tea!"

Although he didn't know Ye Pengchao's true identity, or the dealings between Ye Pengchao and Duan Zhibao, Wang Hui was in a very good mood facing Ye Pengchao's hospitality, although he said things like "No need to be so, Manager Guo, you're too polite."

But Wang Hui's body was very honest. He sat down on the chair and enjoyed the fragrant tea served by the maid.
After a brief greeting, Wang Hui told Ye Pengchao the purpose of his visit, took out an invitation and handed it to him, saying:
"Manager Guo, I'm here mainly because my master's little son turned one year old today, so my master wants to invite some friends to celebrate at home in the evening!"

Hearing this, Ye Pengchao's eyes flashed with a strange color, and then he asked with a smile:

"Is it Master Yinuo?"

Wang Hui nodded without any doubt and said:

"It is Master Yinuo! But this time our master does not want to be too ostentatious. Just a few good friends will get together for a simple meal. Our master knows that you, Shopkeeper Guo, have always been generous, so he specifically told me not to prepare any overly expensive gifts!"

Ye Pengchao, who already felt uneasy after hearing these words, felt even gloomier, but he still smiled and nodded.
"I understand! I'm really sorry to bother you, Steward Wang, to come here in person. Please tell General Duan that Guo will be there on time tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Hui also stood up and bowed, saying:
"I understand! Manager Guo, I believe our master will be very happy that you can come. I have some things to do in the mansion, so I will take my leave first!"

Ye Pengchao sent Wang Hui to the door and then, as Wang Hui declined, he asked the waiter to bring Wang Hui a few bags of high-quality tea. Only then did he send the satisfied Wang Hui away...

However, when Wang Hui left, the smile on Ye Pengchao's face immediately disappeared. If he remembered correctly, Duan Zhibao's youngest son Duan Yinuo was born in August last year, and now it is June. At most, Duan Yinuo is only ten months old.

Besides, for a birthday party like this, the invitation should be made and the time should be reserved a few days in advance. But now he invites me to go in the evening during the day. It is obvious that Duan Yinuo’s birthday party is probably just an excuse. The actual situation is probably that Duan Zhibao has some urgent news and needs to contact me immediately. The so-called birthday party is just a cover-up!

Thinking of this, a bitter smile immediately appeared on Ye Pengchao's face. The news that made Duan Zhibao so anxious was most likely bad news!
Although he didn't know what had gone wrong, for the sake of the overall situation of the Fengwu Army, he had to stabilize Duan Zhibao!
Duan Zhibao is an important part of Fengwu Army's plan to seize Jingchu. If anything happens to him, the entire plan will be in jeopardy!

Just when Ye Pengchao was thinking about how to stabilize Duan Zhibao, suddenly another of his subordinates walked into the room, came to Ye Pengchao's side and whispered something.

After hearing what his subordinates said, Ye Pengchao immediately showed a look of surprise on his face, and then asked his subordinates:

"Where are the others?"

The subordinate said respectfully: "It has been arranged in the city!"

“Take me there quickly…”

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Night, Duan Mansion

A birthday party was being held, and several of Duan Zhibao's good friends and subordinates were gathering together to toast.

"My lord, the young master is really brave and extraordinary, and has your demeanor!" Duan Zhibao's general Li Shaowen gave Duan Zhibao a thumbs up and complimented him:

Before Li Shaowen finished speaking, another general under Duan Zhibao, Zhao Meng, immediately stood up and said:
"That's right! Young Master will definitely inherit the General's legacy and make great contributions to our Jingchu Army and the Great Zhou!"

As the two men spoke, others began to compliment them. Facing the compliments from everyone, Duan Zhibao smiled and nodded.

Although the drinking party was lively and the atmosphere was active, Duan Zhibao was still a little absent-minded. Seeing that the sky outside was getting darker and darker, Duan Zhibao could not sit still any longer. He called the housekeeper Wang Hui over under the pretext of going to the toilet and asked:
"Did Guo Yuan accept the invitation?"

Seeing Duan Zhibao's serious expression, housekeeper Wang Hui was a little surprised at his master. Why did he care so much about the owner of this business? Wasn't Guo Yuan just a businessman with some money? Was it necessary for the master to take it so seriously?
Although he had some doubts in his heart, Wang Hui still preached very respectfully:

"Master, I personally handed the invitation to Shopkeeper Guo, and Shopkeeper Guo told me that he would definitely show up on time tonight..."

Seeing Wang Hui's affirmation, Duan Zhibao nodded with a heavy heart, and then returned to the banquet. Seeing that Duan Zhibao was a little absent-minded, everyone didn't understand why Duan Zhibao was like this, but they all tactfully left Duan's house early.

Looking at the mess left after everyone left, Duan Zhibao sighed heavily, his expression full of regret.

Although he was promoted by Sun Chenggong, he saw that the Jingchu Army was mired in the quagmire of war. Although Sun Chenggong had great ambitions, he was ambitious but incompetent, stubborn and self-righteous, and did not look like a leader. Therefore, Duan Zhibao felt from the bottom of his heart that there was no future for him to follow Sun Chenggong in the Jingchu Army.

With this idea in mind, Duan Zhibao couldn't help but feel envious as he watched the Fengwu Army win victory after victory and completely defeat the Luoan court, with the potential to swallow up the world.

So under such circumstances, when Ye Pengchao recruited him on behalf of the Fengwu Army, Duan Zhibao agreed without much hesitation.

At that time, Duan Zhibao believed that after the Fengwu Army defeated the Luoan court, the next strategic direction would definitely be to move south to completely unify the Great Zhou, and Jingchu was the first step for the Fengwu Army to move south, so he had the confidence to ask for the position of an army commander of the Fengwu Army!
Although he knew that he was asking for an exorbitant price, Duan Zhibao believed that he had the bargaining chip to ask the Fengwu Army for this price...

After all, Duan was the assistant commander of the Jingchu Army. Theoretically, he was the third most important figure in the Jingchu Army after Sun Chenggong, the commander-in-chief of the Jingchu Army, and Zhao Zongchang, the deputy commander.

If the Fengwu Army wants to stabilize the situation in Jingchu, it needs my presence. So if they want to betray their master and rebel, the Fengwu Army should show enough sincerity!

Because he was very confident in his judgment that the Fengwu Army would move southward next, Duan Zhibao had always been confident that the Fengwu Army would meet his request!

But things have come to this point now, and there is still no news from Ye Pengchao, and Duan Zhibao has begun to waver in his judgment!

However, what surprised Duan Zhibao the most was that he had just learned that Marshal Ye of the Fengwu Army was actually leading tens of thousands of troops to Guanzhong. Although the Fengwu Army did not directly say what they were going to do, they only said that they were going to wipe out the remnants of the traitor Shangguan.

But even a fool can see that the Fengwu Army’s real interest is not in the Khanate, but in the Golden Horde!

Duan Zhibao really couldn't understand what Marshal Ye was thinking. In his opinion, the Golden Horde could just occupy Yongliang, because Yongliang was just a remote place anyway.

The southern provinces are prosperous and wealthy places, and compared to the fierce grassland people, Sun Chenggong, Xu Zhaojie, Lu Jianchao and others in the south are obviously no match for the Fengwu Army!
Therefore, in Duan Zhibao's eyes, Ye Mingsheng's leading his troops on the westward expedition was like giving up the bear's paw to get the fish, which was an act of putting the cart before the horse··························

In addition to not understanding Ye Mingsheng's decision, Duan Zhibao was more worried about whether the Fengwu Army would still capture Jingchu!

After all, the Golden Horde is not an easy empire to deal with. No matter how powerful Shangguan Hongyuan was back then, he could only manage to fight a draw with the Golden Horde and save the land of Yongliang. Now, the Fengwu Army will definitely not be able to defeat the Golden Horde in a short period of time.

In this case, will the Fengwu Army, whose energy is tied up by the Golden Horde, still have the energy to march south to Jingchu?

Thinking of this, Duan Zhibao cursed Ye Mingsheng in his heart for being stupid. Others always pick on the weak, but you, Ye Mingsheng, do the opposite and insist on taking on the hard bone. You leave the South alone and insist on confronting the Cumans head-on. Now I am in a dilemma!

One of the important reasons why Duan Zhibao was promoted by Sun Chenggong was that his cousin was Sun Chenggong's favorite concubine. And just yesterday, this cousin sent him a message saying that someone told Sun Chenggong that people from the Coordination Office were assassinating the generals of the Jingchu Army, so Sun Chenggong should be more careful in his daily life!
After receiving this news, Duan Zhibao was very nervous, fearing that Ye Pengchao's plan would fail and he would be implicated. At the same time, he regretted very much why he had been so bewitched and immediately agreed to Ye Pengchao's solicitation!
He should have observed more at that time, and waited until the matter of Fengwu Army's southward march was completely settled before making a decision...

Now Ye Pengchao doesn’t even come to see me. Could it be that the Fengwu Army’s plan has really been exposed?

(End of this chapter)